20100318

First quantum effects seen in visible object UCSB The first ever quantum superposition in an object visible to the naked eye has been observed (New Scientist) "The key was to connect the resonating strip to a superconducting qubit—the qubit acts as a bridge between the microscopic and the macroscopic worlds."

Quantum mechanics harnessed to control macroscopic mechanical system(Wired Science) "The goal of the experiment was to see if we could observe quantum mechanical effects in a large, mechanical object. It’s an exciting piece of work.People are interested in pushing the boundaries of quantum mechanics." The techniques harnessed to measure the effect are based upon research earlier reported in "Quantum Entanglement Visible to the Naked Eye" (Nature, Wired Science, BBC)

Room-temperature quantum coherence in photosynthesis(Wired News)"The Nature findings, made at room temperature in common marine algae, show that macroscopic biological coherence operates under everyday conditions. Moreover, similar results from an experiment on another, simpler light-harvesting structure, announced by Engel’s group last Thursday on the pre-publication online arXiv, suggest that photosynthetic coherence is routine. 'There’s every reason to believe this is a general phenomenon,' said Engel. Scholes’ finding is 'an extraordinary result that shows us a new way to use quantum effects at high temperatures.'"

Nature's hot green quantum computers revealed (New Scientist) "Exactly how these molecules remain coherent for so long, at such high temperatures and with relatively large gaps between them, is a mystery,' says Alexandra Olaya-Castro of University College London, who has been collaborating with Scholes to understand the underlying mechanisms and apply them elsewhere. She believes that the antenna's protein structure plays a crucial role. 'Coherence would not survive without it,' she says. 'The hope is that quantum coherence could be used to make solar cells more efficient. The work is going to change the way we think about photosynthesis and quantum computing, Engel says. 'It's an enormous result.'"

Long-lived quantum coherence in photosynthetic complexes at physiological temperature (arXiv)"We present the first evidence that quantum coherence survives at physiological temperature for at least 300 fs—long enough to perform a rudimentary quantum computational operation. This data proves that the wavelike energy transfer process discovered at 77K is directly relevant to biological function. Microscopically, we attribute this long coherence lifetime to correlated motions within the protein matrix encapsulating the chromophores, and we find that the degree of protection afforded by the protein appears constant between 77K and 277K. The protein shapes the energy landscape and mediates an efficient energy transfer despite thermal fluctuations. The persistence of quantum coherence in a dynamic, disordered system under these conditions suggests a new biomimetic strategy for designing dedicated quantum computational devices that can operate at high temperature."